by Evi Mibelli.
“Not in the thing itself, but in the degrees of shadow, lies beauty. The pearl, phosphorescent in dark places, loses much of its charm in the sunlight. There is no beauty in it, except that created by the contrasts of light and shadow.” – Book of Shadows by Yunikiro Tanizaki.
The objects created by Paola Paronetto possess something very close to the absolute. Not only in terms of shape, color and volumes. They are presences endowed with a hidden life, which moves them imperceptibly as the observation angles vary. The term ‘absolute’ refers to something immutable, defined forever. The wonder, instead, lies in understanding how this dimension is the sum of infinite other dimensions, sought in the circularity of time that flows, passing from light to shadow, from night to day.
Fide collection.
It is a dialogue that manifests itself, silently, in everyday life. Paola Paronetto masters the alphabet, writes the plot and gives it to the places that welcome her creations. It all started with a youthful passion, cultivated with dedication and a curiosity that was, at times, impatient. It is ceramics, an ancient art that unites man to the earth. She shapes it with his hands and crystallizes its form through the power of fire.
“ It’s called magic. The experience of creating a vase on the wheel is indescribable. Seeing the immediate effect of the hands on that ball of clay, the water flowing and making the game possible… I still remember it, it gave me incredible joy, it made me fall in love with ceramics which I consider the most interesting and eclectic of materials. It can be worked in infinite ways and offers endless possibilities for expression.”
Ranunculus Collection.
Her work and creative approach live suspended between art, craftsmanship and design. This elusiveness makes it unique and allows it to move, transform and surprise anyone who comes into contact with its production.
It is the result of a never-ending curiosity that has accompanied her since her formative years and that always inspires her, every time she enters her laboratory:
“I have had many teachers who have sparked different curiosities in me. Then, later, with the techniques I learned, I experimented alone in my laboratory and, each time, I tried to express something of mine, personal and intimate. Many have compared my style to the sweet and impalpable painting of Giorgio Morandi. It’s actually pure coincidence. I simply love creating paintings with the various subjects that make up my world, I put them together, make them talk to each other and take the photo.
For me that is a work of art. Their souls are expressed not only in the three-dimensional and sculptural development but also in the pictorial one that is born from their being together in space, and from the photo that immortalizes them in that precise moment of their existence. Then they will take other paths, they will arrive at other people’s houses and build other relationships, other scenes.”
Pine collection.
Eva Zeisel – perhaps the most talented and long-lived ceramic designer that the last century has given us – said that she was not interested in industrial design, in the concepts of novelty and innovation, in a purely commercial key. She simply claimed to take care of “… of the disinterested, joyful pursuit of beauty”. Paola Paronetto’s approach to design closely resembles her spirit, despite the diversity of times and contexts. Just think of the wonderful experience with Ceramiche Piemme, an innovative industrial reality in the field of coverings.
“My natural inclination to investigate new expressive paths has found a special opportunity in this collaboration. The industry invests in new production technologies and highly innovative performances. However, in this process it inevitably loses its uniqueness and soul, typical of craftsmanship. The production of large ceramic slabs – with dimensions and thicknesses impossible to obtain with traditional processing – has opened up a new experimental window for me. The work was, on the one hand, developed through the search for a texture that would move the surface by playing on chiaroscuro effects and, on the other, transformed the two-dimensionality of the slab into an element of spatial construction.
An interior, an architecture is a space defined by walls, by volumes, by full and empty spaces. Everything moves around the suggestions and emotions that light, shadow and colour create as they run along the boundaries of that space. A textured wall or surface enhances that portion of the space, enriches it with nuances and gives it an identity. I take inspiration from Nature, for me a great source of wonder and beauty, and I bring it into my everyday life.
Textures are not abstract conceptual exercises, they are a humble tribute to the perfection we find in the bark of trees, in the grain of wood, in the thread-like structure of leaves, in the rippling of water… This is how I conceive collaboration with industry and design. Being able to accept challenges to my imagination, and bring something unique and personal.”
An aspect emerges that seems to be secondary, but it is not. It is the profound sense of freedom that emanates from the objects born from her creativity. While on the one hand they are strongly characterized and recognizable, on the other they enjoy the extraordinary ability to merge and change identity according to the sensitivity of those who make them their own and bring them into the intimacy of the home.
On the left, I Cartocci collection – Bottles and vases; on the right, Pistilli collection.
“ I hope to give lightness, a sense of calm and peace. I hope to give lightness, a sense of calm and peace.Non mi preoccupo di cercare una funzione nell’oggetto perché per me il massimo piacere sta nell’osservare e lasciarsi emozionare, ispirare, immaginare. This is how the object becomes much more than functional, it even becomes therapeutic..
The care I put into creating it, the passion, the fact that I wanted it so much during the construction process makes me feel it alive. And it is life that I would like to enter homes and everyday intimacy. Surrounding ourselves with beautiful things that inspire serenity is what we all need, especially now in the terrible moment we are experiencing.”
Much of the uniqueness of Paola Paronetto’s work comes from her research into the potential of a compound – paperclay – which allows her to take constructive risks that are difficult to achieve with classic ceramics. The result is singular objects, with very fine thicknesses, unexpected undercuts, delicate ripples. A material studied for a long time that leaves her a rare freedom of expression, at times extreme, that above all allows her to explore the world of imperfection and the infinite opportunities offered to her creativity…:
“Imperfection was the starting point of my Cartocci collection, born from my desire to break the mold, tired of traditional ceramics that are perfect, precise, static. I wanted to make something with ceramics that didn’t even look like ceramics anymore but something else, paper, metal… something that represented movement, nature, lightness. Mistakes are opportunities for my imagination. I always take advantage of this to broaden my horizons, take new paths and be surprised by unexpected situations.
I can create 1000 or more bottles but each of them is handmade, with complex processes and with an ever new and personal look. Every day I am a little different and I work differently. This makes each of my pieces unique.”
Autem Project by Paola Paronetto.
The path to recognition was slow and steady. Simply because she never abdicated her personal sensitivity, her expressive dimension, preserving its strength and authenticity. In an overexposed world, where value is measured in visibility, Paola Paronetto is a rarity. The urgency of the world outside does not belong to her. And her objects, her work are tangible evidence of this.
For this reason, when she collaborates on shared projects, she seeks, above all else, affinity. And this is the case that sees her involved, on the occasion of the Design Week 2025 in Milan, in the “Autem” project together with the great chef Luca Natalini. It may seem obvious that ceramics are related to food, but this challenge raises deeper themes and subtle connections that transform the experience of food and its staging into a journey balanced between art and life.
“The experience with Veuve Clicquot led me to reflect on how food – and specifically wine – is the fruit of Mother Earth. Just like the clay from which ceramics originate. It is a primordial bond, on which life in all its declinations depends. Every relationship we have with the land – whether you are a farmer, a winemaker, a chef, a ceramist… – is a relationship that is based on love and on the connection to that thread that feeds not only the body but also the soul.
We can all be artists and interpreters of the wonderful and mysterious beauty of nature. Seeing the care and precision of Luca Natalini in preparing his dishes, the respect for the ingredients and their valorization, I perceived love. The Autem project is the confluence of emotions in a partnership that blossoms, expresses itself and then dissolves. It is the sublime moment that crystallizes in the image of a place, an object and its precious content – food – to then let the senses flow in search of new experiences”.
“Time, for beauty, does not exist,” Eva Zeisel always said. Nothing is more true when observing the rarefied world of Paola Paronetto. It is a journey that never tires, it is accompanying with your gaze the elegant and silent flight of a butterfly.
Autem*
Autem* – Via Serviliano Lattuada,2, Milano
From March 26th to June 26th 2025 – paolaparonetto.com
Paola Paronetto in her laboratory in Rondover, Porcia (PN)
On the cover, Mono collection.
